Founded in 1997, Edelaraudtee operates freight services on lines from Tallinn to Rapla, Pärnu & Viljandi owned by Edelaraudtee Infrastruktuuri AS. Prior to 2014, the company also operated the domestic inter-city passenger routes that are currently operated by Elron. Before the transfer of the passenger traffic to Elron, Edelaraudtee employed around 500 staff and carried approximately 1.8 million passengers per year.[3]
History
Diesel multiple unit DR1B at Tartu (2010)
In November 2000, the British private railway company GB Railways acquired an interest in Edelaraudtee through the Estonian subsidiary GB Railways Eesti AS in exchange for 10 million Kroon ($540,000) along with investment and stock increase deals over a five year period as part of the agreement.[4][5] Accordingly, GB Railways owned 20% of the shares, with the majority owners being Edelaraudtee chairman Henn Ruubel and lawyer Marcel Vichmannile.[6][7][8] In 2002, GB Railways' investment in the company was only valued at £70,000; the British business provided management to the company on a fee basis.[9] Around this time, the State Audit Office publicly criticised the subsidy system in use upon Estonia's railways and called for reforms.[10]
During 2008, Edelaraudtee announced that it would withdraw entirely from conducting freight operations on its own infrastructure and would instead focus on passenger transport.[11] It was speculated that Estonian Railways would launch freight operations on Pärnu and Viljandi lines as a consequence. At the time of the announcement,Edelaraudtee was one of three passenger operators running services on the infrastructure of Estonian Railways.[11] By January 2012, Edelaraudtee was Estonia’s largest passenger railway operator; that month, the company's trains transported 145,000 passengers, the greater number of travellers recorded in the five years prior. This improvement partially explained by the recent completion of renovation work on the Tallinn-Viljandi line.[12]
During early 2009, a new e-ticket booking system was introduced by Edelaraudtee, allowing passengers to purchase tickets from anywhere in the world.[13] On 16 March 2012, the company launched a new information display solution based on GPS, that provided passengers real-time information on the trains’ locations via the internet and physical displays. The developed information project, whose part is that solution, had an objective to provide passengers necessary opportunities to acquire trip information. Edelaraudtee had plans to equip all serviced train stations and stops with QR codes to link passengers with relevant station’s or train stop’s information display on the Internet.[14]
On 1 January 2010, Edelaraudtee relaunched services on the Tartu to Valga line after the line had previously been closed in April 2008 for extensive repair work.[15][16] Edelaraudtee operated two services per day between the two locations.[17] During 2012, following completion of upgrade work on the line between Türi and Viljandi, 120kmph running was permitted,[18] reducing the journey time to Viljandi by 20 minutes, for a total travel time of 2 hours and 22 minutes.[19]
In May 2013, the Estonian government declared that Eesti Liinirongid, later rebranded as Elron, would be the sole domestic passenger operator in Estonia, compelling Edelaraudtee to reorientate its operations away from this sector.[20] A legal dispute between Edelaraudtee and the Estonian government broke out over compensation for lost revenue from the operator's forced withdrawal from passenger services.[21][22][23] The final day of Edeleraudtee's service was December 31, 2013, however the final Tallinn-Türi train called at Kolu station and Türi station after midnight, on January 1, 2014.
All of Edelaraudtee's station stops open on its final day of operation were taken over, except for Kolu stop.
During 2017, Edelaraudtee publicly stated its regret in response to the Estonian government's decision to discontinue train traffic on the Lelle-Pärnu section of the railway network to avoid the need to expend approximately €17 million.[24][25]
Throughout the 2010s, Edelaraudtee examined various opportunities to increase the operating speeds of certain lines, often in collaboration with Elron.[26]
In 2021, Edelaraudtee opened a new control center in Türi; built at a cost of €3 million, this center will be fed all infrastructure data and remove the need for station managers to be present. Information is displayed digitally, and has been structured in a manner which permits control operations to be entirely automated.[27]
Under the Rail Baltica programme, a new high-speed railway trunk line will be built between the three Baltic states; it is planned to intersect with Edelaraudtee's existing infrastructure along the Loone-Hagudi section.[28]
Delivery of 18 electric and 20 diesel Stadler FLIRT trains built by Stadler Rail started in 2012, and by June 2014 all trains had arrived in Estonia.[29][30] Since 2014, all services are operated by Elron using the new trains.[31]
Valga is a town in southern Estonia and the capital of Valga County and Valga Parish. Until their separation in 1920, Valga and the town of Valka in northern Latvia were one town. They are now twin-towns. The area of Valga is 16.5 square kilometres and that of Valka is 14.2 km2 (5.5 sq mi). Their populations are respectively 12,261 and 6,164. On 21 December 2007 all border-crossing points were removed and roads and fences opened between the two countries with both countries joining the Schengen Agreement.
AS Eesti Liinirongid, operating as Elron, is a government-owned passenger train operator in Estonia.
Eesti Raudtee or EVR is the national railway infrastructure company of Estonia. It owns a network of 1,191 kilometres (740 mi) of broad gauge railway throughout the country, including the 192 kilometres (119 mi) used by the Elron commuter trains around Tallinn. Its sole shareholder is the Government of Estonia.
The rail transport system in Estonia consists of about 1,200 kilometres (750 mi) of railway lines, of which 900 kilometres (560 mi) are currently in public use. The infrastructure of the railway network is mostly owned by the state and is regulated and surveyed by the Estonian Technical Surveillance Authority.
Rail Baltica is an under-construction rail infrastructure project that is intended to integrate the Baltic states in the European rail network. Its purpose is to provide passenger and freight service between participating countries and improve rail connections between Central and Northern Europe, specifically the area southeast of the Baltic Sea. It is also intended as a catalyst for building the economic corridor in Northeastern Europe. The project envisages a continuous rail link from Tallinn (Estonia) to Warsaw (Poland), consisting of links via Riga (Latvia), Kaunas, and Vilnius (Lithuania). Its total length in the Baltic States is 870 kilometres (540 mi), with 213 kilometres (132 mi) in Estonia, 265 kilometres (165 mi) in Latvia, and 392 kilometres (244 mi) in Lithuania. Rail Baltica is one of the priority projects of the European Union (EU). It is part of the North Sea–Baltic Corridor of the Trans-European Transport Networks (TEN-T).
GoRail is a rail freight operator in Estonia, and also offers related training services. Until commencing offering freight services in 2019 it was a passenger service operator, and until 2020 it operated the only direct international passenger rail services from Estonia.
Public transport in Tallinn consists of bus, tram, trolleybus, train, and ferry services. Tallinna Linnatranspordi (TLT) operates bus, tram and trolleybus routes, Elron operates train services, and Spinnaker OÜ operates the ferry service to Aegna Island on the high speed craft Vegtind. Tallinn is the only city in Estonia to have ever used trams or trolleybuses. Use of trolleybuses has decreased since their peak operation in 1988. Since 2024, diesel busses have started to be replaced by compressed gas–powered and battery electric buses.
Baltic Station is the main railway station in Tallinn, Estonia, and the largest railway station in Estonia. All local commuter, long-distance and international trains depart from the station.
GB Railways was the parent company of a number of train operating companies, running the Anglia Railways franchise from January 1997 and launching Hull Trains and GB Railfreight. GB Railways was also involved in the management of the Estonian rail company Edelaraudtee and had an investment in Great Southern Rail in Australia.
The history of rail transport in Estonia starts in 1870 when a railway line was opened connecting Paldiski, Tallinn, Tapa and Narva; the line extending all the way to Saint Petersburg in Russia.
Tartu railway station is the main railway station in Tartu, Estonia.
Koidula railway station is a railway station in Koidula, Estonia, on the Russian border. It merges the Tartu–Pechory and Valga–Pechory railways just before the Russian border. The station opened in September 2011, and is a few metres from the border with Russia. The main purpose of the station is making the crossing of Russian border easier for both goods and passengers. It also enabled the traffic on "Southeast Estonian Triangle" (Tartu–Valga–Piusa–Tartu) without crossing the Russian border. Currently however there are no cross-border passenger trains, and services from Pskov to Pechory do not connect with the Elron services in Estonia.
The Tallinn–Tapa railway is a 77.8-kilometre (48.3 mi) long double track partly electrified railway line in Estonia, connecting the cities of Tallinn and Tapa.
Ülemiste railway station is a railway station in the Ülemiste sub-district of Tallinn, the capital city of Estonia. It is located approximately 500 metres from Tallinn Airport, to which it has been connected by a tramline since 2017.
The city of Pärnu in Estonia had a railway station from 1896 to 2018, although the location of the station changed several times. There are plans to re-establish a passenger train service with a new high-speed rail line, Rail Baltica, running from Tallinn to Poland via Pärnu.
AS Postimees Grupp, formerly known as AS Postimees and AS Eesti Meedia, is an Estonian media holding company headquartered in Tallinn. The company is currently owned by MM Group, having acquired the half of the company from Norwegian company Schibsted in 2013 and bought the remaining half in 2015. The group is one of the largest media group in the Baltics. Among the Group's activities are creation of print and online media, production of television and radio, e-commerce.
Laagri railway station is a station in the Nõmme district of Tallinn, Estonia. The railway station serves the Laagri sub-district of Nõmme and Laagri borough of Saue parish which in combination has approximately 6400 residents.
Paldiski railway station is a railway station serving the town and Baltic Sea port of Paldiski, situated on the Pakri Peninsula of northwestern Estonia.
Viljandi railway station is a railway station serving the town of Viljandi in southern Estonia.
Kitseküla railway station is a railway station in the Kitseküla sub-district of Tallinn, the capital city of Estonia. It is located in central Tallinn, where the Tallinn–Narva railway crosses the road Pärnu maantee, and close to the East Tallinn Central Hospital and the Lilleküla Stadium. The station opened on 10 November 2008.
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